Game-board



(No Model.)

W. FULD. GAME BOARD.

No. 476,046. Patented May 31, 1892.

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UN rra STATES I 'WILLIAM FULD, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

GAME-BOARD.,

SPECIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 476,046, dated May 31,1892.

Application filed February 18, 1892. Serial Ne. &21,920. (Ne model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM FULD, a citizen of the United States, and aresident of Baltimore, in the State of Maryland, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Game-Boards; and I do hereby declare thatthe following is a f ull, clear, and exact description of the invention,which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,which form a part of this specification, and in which- Figure 1 is aplan of my improved gameboard. Fg. 2 is a detail view, on an enlargedscale, of the device for Shooting the ball from one end of the table;and Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional View of this device.

Like letters of reference denote corresponding parts in all the figures.

This invention relates to game boards or tables of that type in which aspring-gun is located at one end of a horizontal cloth-covered table andadapted to shoot a ball either into certain pockets in the fiat top orsides of the table, or against other balls or "men, in the nature ofnine-pins, set up upon the table so as to upset the same; and myimprovement consists in the peouliar Construction of the ball-ejectingdevice or spring-gun, in combination 'with the table, as will behereinat'ter more fully described and claimed.

Referring to the drawings, the letter A designates the fiatcloth-covered top of the table, having raised sides B and pockets O. Thetop of the table is preferably made with slanting sides at one end, asshown at B', with said slanting sides cut away so as to leave an openingD tlush or even with the top of the table. The opposite end of the tablehas a number of depressions 01' recesses a a, which should be numberedto indicate the value in points of the game of each hole or recessa.

The second part of the device or apparatus consists of a ball-ejector inthe nature of a spring-gun, comprising a barrel E, piston F, havingpiston-rod f and spring G. The piston-rod passes through the coiledspring G and out through an aperture in the closed end of the barrel,whore it is provided with a handle I-I of suitable shape. The piston-rodf is tubular, and the piston F and handle Il are perforated in alignmentwith the aperture through the rod to pernit of the insertion and passageof a fine cord I, having attached to it at one end a ball J of ivory,celluloid, or other suitable material, and provided at the other endwith a button K. The cord or string I must be of sufficient length toreach from the perforated handle I-l to the corners at the op` posite'end of the table when the spring-gun is placed in position ready foruse. l

The game may be played in a variety of ways, among others the following:A ball or marble L is placed at a point on the table about half-waybetween the muzzlc of the' spring-gun and the nearest row of recesses aThis point may be marked by a patch Z, as shown in Fig. 1. Thespring-gun is now loaded by pulling upon button K and string I, so as todraw the ball J into the barrel, as shown n full line in Fig. 3, untilit' brings up against the piston, which has first been drawn back by itshandle l-I, so as to compress spring G. The muzzle of the gun is nowpointed aga nst the ball placed on the patch Z, and the ob; ect is tohit this ball L with ball J and shoot t into one of thenumbered recessesa. Another way is to place balls in all of the recesses a a and try todislodge them by hitting them with ball J, or a certain number of therecesses a a, may be filled with balls, while others are left empty, andthe object ot the game will be to shoot these balls from one recess intoanother or against another ball by hitting them with ball J; or it maybe made an object to dislodge the balls deposited in the recesses ordepressions a and' shoot them by causing them to carom against oneanother into the side pockets O. There are many other ways in which aninteresting game can be playedupon this table which will readly suggestthemselves, and it will be obvous that the Construction of the tableperse may be varied to adapt it to different games.`

As the ball J with which the game is played is held eaptive by thestring by which it is attached to the gun, it cannot fiy ot of thetable, and after each shot it can be pulled back into the gun simply bypulling on the string. The button K not only serves as a handle forpulling string I, but it also serves an impor tant function in forming astop, so that the string cannot be pulled through the handle and thetubular pisten-red connected there` IOO With. As the coi-(1 or string islong enough to permit ball J to play all over the surface of the tableand reach the ends thereof, it will not interfere with the aim of thegun or the movement of the ball.

The barre] of the spring-gun is pivoted in the opening D by means of astud M, projecting from one side ot' the barrel and fitted into a holebored through the table-top, so that the barrel Will project into theopening D. The slanting sides B' B' permit the gun to be so trained thatthe ball J may be shot against the straight sides, (said sides beingcushioned, as in a bi11iard-tab1e,) so that the ball Will be defleetedand sent in the direction of the 1'ecesses a a.

Having thus described my invention, I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent of the United States- The combination of the table A B,swiveled gun-barrei E, perforated pisten F, having tubular piston-rod f,and perforated handle H, spring G, and ball J, having string I andbutton K, substantially as and for the purpose shown and set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereuntoaffixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WVILLIAM FULD.

XVitnesses:

JAMES B. LOANE, WILLIAM F. LOANE.

